The Shenandoah Region of the Porsche Club of America (PCA) is dedicated to enjoying Porsche cars in central Virginia. While Porsches are the common element, our members provide the club with variety and enthusiasm. We organize scenic driving tours, run six autocrosses each year, and take part in high-performance driver's education events at the Virginia International Raceway. Our premier event is the Richmond Porsche Meet (RPM), a June weekend including a concours, lunch, driving tour, tech session, banquet, and an autocross at the Southside Speedway. We also hold a Christmas party and several social meetings annually.

Nonmembers are welcome to participate in a social meeting, a driving tour, or an autocross. Our upcoming events are listed below. Follow these links to learn more about the Shenandoah Region, PCA Zone 2, and the national PCA. Visit JOIN PCA to become a member. You can also follow us on Facebook.

A Car Crash and Lunch: Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Greene County is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a non-Government and non-profit agency whose mission is "reducing the losses—deaths, injuries, and property damage—from crashes on the nation's roads", not only a commendable goal but what a fun job as well to take new cars and wreck them! Better yet is we get to be there when they do. On Thursday May 17, we have been invited to watch the test of a Chevrolet Malibu underriding a semitrailer. Before the test will be a tour of the facility and afterwards we will be allowed to go down on the test track and view the car close up.

What we will see is the same type of accident test that we have seen on the nightly news, 60 Minutes, and read about in Consumer Reports and other news magazines. The I.I.H.S. (see the Wikipedia article) is not open to the public so take advantage of this special opportunity and put it on your calendar now. RSVP Required: I will need to provide a list of all attendees in order to get passes, so please email me (Keith Welty) at kmwelty@gmail.com or call 540-672-5516 no later than Sunday May 13 if you would like to go.

• Date: Thursday, May 17, 2012


• Times:
  Meet at IIHS: 10 AM (but no later than 10:15 please)
  Tour and crash test: 10:30 AM–12:30 PM
  Lunch: approximately 12:45 PM
  


• Locations:
   
  Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (map)
  998 Diary Road
  Ruckersville, VA 22968
  (About 25 minutes north of Charlottesville off of Seminole Trail/Route 29)
   
  El Agave Mexican restaurant (map) (A short drive from the IIHS)
  8694 Seminole Drive
  Ruckersville, VA 22962
  (804) 990-9500

First Settlers Region DE at VIR: The FSR spring DE (Driver Education) has been scheduled for May 18–20. All three days will be on the VIR full course. On-line registration will remain open until May 8, but it is a good idea to register sooner, before the event fills up.

Are you new to DE and on the fence about whether Driver's Education is for you? Then register for their DE INTRO! For a $50 fee, they will get you onto the track in your car with an instructor for a single session mid-day on Saturday, May 19. Standard DE safety requirements apply, so you will need a Snell SA rated helmet. FSR has a few loaners available, so please email the registrar before you sign up if you'd like to borrow one.

All Are Invited to Shenandoah's Sixteenth Annual Richmond Porsche Meet (RPM): Join the Shenandoah Region for an enjoyable weekend June 1–3 in historic Richmond, VA. Friday-evening participants will gather to prep their cars at Dave's Auto Spa (map) for the upcoming festivities and hang out and "kick the tires" at Euroclassics Porsche. On Saturday, we will host a tops-only concours along the banks of the scenic James River (map) that will conclude with a catered lunch at our famous "Cafe Carrera." Afterward, we will have a short gimmick rally/fun drive to one of Richmond's well-known destinations, an informative tech session, and an awards dinner banquet with featured speaker Ms. Connie Nyholm, co-owner and developer of Virginia International Raceway. We will complete the weekend with an autocross on the 1/3-mile banked oval track at Southside Speedway, with an optional boxed lunch. All Porsche enthusiasts are welcome!
Online registration is now open. The last day to register online is May 31.

For more information, download the RPM brochure.
Questions? Contact Alex Smith at (804) 323-1559 or asmith@collegiate-va.org or Sherry Westfall at (434) 295-3955 or vscapes@cstone.net.

Dinner And A Silent Movie: On Saturday, June 16 we will meet for an early dinner at Mario's Pizzeria (map) in Orange and afterwards drive through the scenic countryside of Orange, Madison, and Culpeper counties. Our destination will be the Library of Congress–Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (map), just east of Culpeper. This state-of-the-art facility is where the Library of Congress "acquires, preserves and provides access to the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of films, television programs, radio broadcasts, and sound recordings". Unfortunately, tours are not given of this facility. Upon our arrival around 7PM, we will be treated to a silent film with live musical accompaniment, title to be determined.

Prior to 1998, this facility, a.k.a. Mount Pony, contained a secret bunker for Federal Reserve senior officials and a massive vault with pallets of cash that would be used to replenish the money supply in the aftermath of World War III.

Times and Locations:

• Mario's Pizzeria (map)
  153 East Main St
  Orange, VA 22960
  (540) 672-3344
  
• Dinner: 5:00–6:00 PM
  Drivers' Meeting: 6:00–6:15 PM
  Driving Tour Departure: 6:15 PM
  Driving Tour: 6:15–7:00 PM
  
• Library of Congress (LOC)
  National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) (map)
  Packard Campus
  19053 Mount Pony Road
  Culpeper, VA 22701
  
• Driving Tour Arrival: 7:00 PM
  Movie Ticket Collection: 7:20 PM
  Movie: 7:30 PM
  

Although the movie is free, you must make reservations starting Friday, June 8. (See the reservation page on their web site). Call (540) 827-1079 x79994 or (202) 707-9994 no earlier than one week prior to the screening. The reservation line is open Monday–Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and closed on holidays.

A phone message will instruct you to leave the following information:
1. Date of the show for which you would like reservations: June 16
2. Title of the film.
3. Your name. Please speak clearly and repeat or spell the last name.
4. Number of seats desired. (Four-seat limit per show per call)

Please RSVP to Keith Welty at kmwelty@gmail.com or 540-672-5516 and give him the names of the people who will be attending and if you and your guests will be having dinner at Mario's, going onto the driving tour, attending the movie, or all three no later than Wednesday, June 13. Keith will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Brian Minkin's 993 and DE headquarters for the 2011 "Rumble at the Oak Tree"
 
Fifth Annual Zone 2 Club Race and "Rumble at the Oak Tree" Advanced Solo DE

On-line registration at clubregistration.net is now open for the Fifth Annual Advanced Solo DE and Zone 2 Club Race at VIR over the June 22–24 three-day weekend. This is a spectacular event, and the paddock will be filled with race cars and support trailers. The DE is open to instructors and advanced run-group drivers (red and black) as well as solo run-group drivers (white) with prior VIR experience. This DE has only one run group, so drivers get a huge amount of track time (about 3 hours per day!) and a chance to mix it up with some very fast cars.

Porsche Parade: The 2012 Porsche Parade will take place July 8–14 at Salt Lake City, Utah. Registration opened on March 13 and may fill up fast, so don't delay if you want to go. Follow the official Parade website for the latest details.

Honoring All Volunteers

Anonymous Donor

Renn Zenn
 

jfro@rennzenn.com